The Broken, Beaten, and bruised
by Utaste1513
Summary: Ino's bulimic, Sakura has stage three brain cancer, Hinata has to deal with an abusive father, Tenten's an orphan with trust issues, and temari's a drug dealer, trying to make ends meet for herself and her two brothers. They are broken, beaten, and bruised, and they need someone, anyone, to put them back together. Here are the love stories that saved their lives. one-shots.
1. Naruto and Hinata

**So basically, these are just going to be a bunch of long one-shots, each focusing on one girl and their struggles. **

**There all going to be roughly around 1,500 to 2,000 words, so a pretty decent size. ^^**

**Hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

Hinata walked as slowly as she could, counting every step she took. Every crack that was in the sidewalk. She was in no mood to go home. Her father was coming back from his business trip today. She shivered, and not because of the weather.

It was actually a very nice evening. Warm, but not to warm, and a little breeze swept by every couple of minutes. It was perfect.

Though, she really couldn't fell it because of the heavy hoodie and long jeans she was wearing in an attempt to hide all of the bruises.

As she got closer to her house, she got more and more uncomfortable. Shifting her weight, playing with her hair, biting her nails, she was contemplating just turning around and walking away, but she knew better. Her father would probably find her eventually, so what's the point?

Once she got to the entrance of her house, she stopped dead in her tracks and looked down at her sneaker clad feet.

She was scared to death.

Taking a long, deep breath, she walked up the white marble steps that led to the huge double doors. Putting her had on one of the door knobs, she opened the door just by a hair. Looking into her house, she saw everything she normally would see, except for the coat and briefcases that were lying right in the middle of the foyer.

"Crap", she whispered to herself.

As she opened the door fully, a scent that smelled like stale beer and shaving cream filled her nose. She scrunched her face, it was a truly disgusting odder that she hadn't smelled since he left, and now it was back.

Which meant he was back.

She was physically shaking at this point. She had hoped it was just a dream. That it wasn't real, that he had left for good and was never planning on coming back, but it wasn't, and now the pain and depression was going to start all over again. The abuse would resume like someone hitting the play button after a long pause.

Hinata turned around quickly; she had to get out of here. _It wasn't safe, _her inner self was screaming. She started to reach for the door handle, but a crud voice that she knew all too well froze her to the floor boards.

"And where do you think you're going you little bitch?"

Her eyes widened. Hinata slowly turned around to see her father, who had a glass in one hand, and a large bottle of expensive wine in the other, standing only a couple of feet away from her. Clearly drunk and pissed off.

"F-f-father! I-I-I wasn't g-going a-a-anywhere."

He stepped closer to Hinata. Pouring more wine into an already full cup, he smiled sadistically, "I see you still have that stupid stuttering problem of yours. I thought I told you to get that fixed?"

She didn't respond.

They stood there in thick, awkward silence for what seemed like hours until Hiashi decided to break it.

"Answer me you bitch!"

He was furious, he started to curse and swear. Hinata just stood there, terrified and confused. She could see the arm that was holding the wine bottle start to rise.

"P-p-please f-father! Don't!"

Her please were in vain though, and she screamed and fell to the floor as said bottle came flying at her with great speed.

She covered her head with her hands. Whimpering as shattered falling glass cut into her delicate hands and arms. She could hear the loud thumps of her father's feet walking towards her. A hand clutched the hood of her sweatshirt; he picked her up, practically chocking her in the proses.

"Now you listen and you listen good! I won't have some stupid little girl defying me! You are my daughter and there for you will do as you are told!"

Hinata squirmed, trying to get free. He wouldn't let her go, even when her face was starting to turn different shades of blue and purple.

At one last attempt of freedom, Hinata kicked Hiashi in the upper thigh as hard as she could, which caused him to grunt loudly and let her go. She hit the floor with a thud, and quickly started to crawl. Going under Hiashi's legs and then standing up and running at full speed to the back entrance of their home.

She could hear him behind her, yelling at her to stop. At one point she bumped into a dresser and fell to the floor. He grabbed her leg and started to pull her back, but she was done letting him win. So she turned her body and started to kick. She instantly felt the pain of him digging his nails into her skin to get a better grip, but she didn't care, and kept kicking. Finally the fabric of her pant ripped, and she was able to scrambled back up and run out the back entrance.

She was free at last.

She kept on running, even after she couldn't hear her father's angry voice anymore. She needed to get as far away as she could. But after a while, tears started blurred her vision, and she knew she would only cause further damage to herself if she kept running, so she decided to find somewhere to collect herself and think about her next move.

Then the realization hit her, she was homeless, parentless, and a bloody mess.

Looking around, she saw that she had run all the way to the more poverty stricken section of Konoha, more precisely the park area.

Some kids were playing on the jungle gyms and slides, while their parents smiling and chatted to one another, and some teenage boys she recognized from school were playing a game of basketball.

They looked so happy and care free.

Shuffling herself to a nearby bench, she sat down and started to cry again. It was gross loud sobbing, and she was sure that some people were staring, but she didn't care. She just wanted to be happy like everyone else. But she knew crying wasn't going to solve her problems, so she calmed herself down she started to examine her wounds.

The ones on her hands weren't that bad, only small scratches and cuts, but the one on her leg was gruesome. It was bleeding profusely, puffy and red, and it looked infected.

Hinata touched it lightly, and regretted that decision immediately. Hot searing pain shot through her whole body.

Tears started to fall from her eyes for the third time today. She buried her face in her arms.

What had she gotten herself into?

"Hinata?"

Hinata's head shot up immediately. Her pale, lavender eyes meting pretty blue ones.

She knew those eyes well. They were they eyes of the boy she had had a crush on since she was six. She loved those eyes.

_Naruto. _

She tried to smile at him, but it didn't turn out looking much like a smile. She looked more constipated than anything else.

Naruto sat down next to Hinata, confusion and worry written all over his whiskered face.

"Why are you crying?"

His hand cupped her face lightly; using his thumb wiped away a stray tear. Hinata quickly looked down at her lap; face red, she tried to wipe away the rest of her tears, but it only caused the blood form the cuts on her hands to transfer to her face.

Naruto looked at her hands and gasped, "Hinata, who did this to you?"

Hinata just shook head. Even if she wanted to tell him, she was sure no words would come out of her mouth.

He then saw the deep gash on her leg, and the bright red line around her neck.

"Hinata!"

No answer.

Furious, he grabbed Hinata's shoulders, forcing her to look at him, practically screaming he exclaimed,

"Hinata! Answer me!"

Her eyes were wide and bloodshot; you could barely see the pupils anymore…

…"_Answer me you bitch!"…_ _"Answer me you bitch!"…_ _"Answer me you bitch!"…_

Her father's voice rung in her ears, getting louder and louder each time.

She pushed Naruto away, standing up from the bench. She tried to walk, but fell to the ground after taking a couple of steps. She crumpled into a little ball, wanting nothing more than to die right then and there.

Naruto rushed to her side. Placing a hand on her back and trying to get a better look at her face.

"Hinata…"

"Please don't hurt me."

It was more of a cry for help then a plea. She knew that Naruto would never hurt her. But right now it was hard to distinguish who was who.

Everything was becoming fuzzy and dark. She didn't know which way was up or down. She couldn't think at all.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise…"

It was the last thing she heard before she passed out from extensive blood loss.

* * *

Hinata opened her eyes. She had no idea where she was, or if what happed was just a dream, If it was all just some sick twisted trick her mind had played on her.

She sat up slowly, taking in her surroundings. White walls. White sealing. White furniture. Everything was white.

_I think I'm in a hospital. _

Then she looked directly forward. A smiling Naruto was sitting at the other end of her bed.

"N-naruto?"

"Hey hinata! How you feelin'?"

"F-fine I guess…wh-what happened to m-me?"

Naruto's smile completely disappeared, "I've been asking myself that same question."

She knew he was mad at her. Or maybe he was just frustrated, but never the less, she knew that he at least deserved some kind of answer, even if it may not be the truth.

"I j-just tripped walking-g home, t-t-that's a-all, hones-t-t"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, he knew she was lying. She had always been a really terrible liar, "Come on Hinata, really. Falling on the side walk wouldn't cause scratches on the _top _of your hands, and it defiantly wouldn't have caused the injury on your leg. Your lying through your teeth and you know it."

She kept her eyes glued on anything but Naruto. Looking at him would only cause everything to spill out, and she couldn't have that. She hated burying people with her problems.

He grabbed her chin and gently glided her face so it was looking at his, "Hinata, please."

_Tell him Hinata! We can't keep living like this!_

"My father..." her voice cracked as she spoke, it was barley a whisper.

"What?" Naruto was now also whispering, and had gotten extremely close to Hinata's face.

"My. Father." She didn't stutter or whisper this time. Her voice was cold and full of pain, and she made sure he heard her clearly.

Tears started to form, but she didn't let them fall. She couldn't start crying again. Not now at least.

"Y-y-your father...Your freakin' father!? How long has this been going on for?!"

Hinata was shocked at his sudden outburst. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know he cared this much.

"I…for a while…t-two maybe three years…"

His eyes widened, "There years! Why didn't you tell someone?!"

"I just didn't want to burden anyone with my problems!"

He looked at her like she had grown a third head, "Hinata, this isn't just some 'problem', he could have killed you!"

She glared at him.

"So? Nobody would have cared anyway! You know, maybe I didn't tell anyone because I had no one to tell it to!"

He was completely shocked by her words. He didn't know how to react, so he just closed the small gap that was between them, taking her face in his hands.

The kiss was sweet and childlike, almost like a fairytale kiss.

"I would have cared Hinata. I would have cared so much."


	2. Sasuke and Saukra

Sakura stood in the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

She saw pretty green eyes, that were no doubt her best feature, but they were also red and tired looking. A small, round noes, pale sickly white skin, and a pair of scabbed, beaten up lips from all of the biting she had put them through.

Then she saw the bald scalp, and a forehead that now looked even bigger because of it.

Damn cancer.

She just wished that the guys who came up with the cures would have made it so you didn't lose your hair, but it really didn't bother her_ that_ much.

Not like she was going to stay bald forever.

At least she got to where those cool bandanas that made her look like a badass biker chick.

She sadly smiled at her lame attempt to make herself feel better.

She walked back into her hospital room. It was a very white, sterile room. The only thing that had some degree of happiness to it was her side table, which contained all of the bouquets of flowers that friends and family had brought and sent her.

Walking over to her bed, she sat down and picked up a yellow daisy from one of the many vases that Naruto had brought her.

She sighed.

Naruto had been by her side since she first found out about the cancer, and has been visiting her at least twice a week since. He's been such a sweetheart through all of this, and she was grateful to have someone like him by her side.

But he was only one of two boys she had been inseparable from since kindergarten.

Sasuke had been on vacation for a good two months now. He left a week before she got the test results back. Naruto had asked if she wanted him to call Sasuke and tell him. But she declined his offer, telling him she didn't want to rain on his fun and they should wait until he got back.

Sakura started to pluck the petals off of the flower. She really did want to tell him. Her inner voice was screaming for her too, but she just couldn't. He had never been the most caring person before. They were friends, sure, but she had always wanted to be more than friends, and that made him uneasy around her. It had gotten better recently though. He talked to her more, they joked and hug out just the two of them when Naruto couldn't make it. But now, with this stupid _disease_, the thought of him rejecting her _because_ she had cancer was the only thing that went through her mind when she thought of him. And that scared her more than death its self.

And she had been staring death in the face for a long while now.

**With Sasuke. **

sasuke and his brother had just gotten back from their vacation in Hawaii. It had been a pleasant experience. More so for Itachi that Sasuke, but he still had a bit of fun. He was just happy to finally be home, to see his friends again, and to go back to school.

Once they got back to their house, Itachi had decided to go to bed. Sasuke didn't blame him; it had been a very long plain ride, but he on the other had had decided to go see how Naruto and Sakura were doing, After all he had been gone for more than two months.

He first decided to go to Sakura's house. She lives relatively close to him, and it would have been foolish to go to Naruto's first, which was way at the other end of town.

Or maybe he just wanted to see her more than Naruto.

Walking up the front steps, he could see no lights were on. He knocked anyway, not really wanting to take any chances.

No one came to the door.

_Odd. _He thought. He then decided to check out all of the places that she would normally be at if she wasn't home. He went to the library, the little coffee shop at the end of the street, even Yamanaka' flower shop.

Nothing.

Giving up, he started to walk in and the direction of Naruto's house.

Maybe he knew where Sakura was.

Once he got to his there though, he saw just a blur of orange and yellow before he was on the ground.

"Sasuke!" naruto beamed.

"Get off me you idiot!" Sasuke said as he pushed the hyperactive blonde.

"Your back!"

"No shit, what was your first clue?"

Naruto glared at him, arms crossed, and pouting like a five-year-old.

"I see you're still a bastard."

"I see you're still a dobe."

A shadow of a smile formed on Sasuke's face.

Everything was back to normal.

Sasuke was the first to get up from the ground. Brushing off the invisible dirt from his t-shirt he asked, "So, have you seen Saukra? I checked her house, but she wasn't there."

Naruto wouldn't look at him,

"I'm so sorry Sasuke…"

He was confused. And Sasuke Uchiha _never_ got confused.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

Naruto finally looked up at him. Tears had formed in his eyes.

_This can't be good. _

"Sasuke, Sakura was diagnosed with stage three brain cancer a week after you left."

_What? _

It was like his whole world just stopped.

_Brain cancer? Braine cancer?!_

No, she couldn't—Naruto's lying. Why wouldn't she tell me? She would have told me. I know she would have told me.

"Where is she?"

"Sasuke-"

"Where. Is. She.?"

"s-she's at konoha hospital."

"What room?"

"263."

Sasuke swiftly turned and started to run as fast as his legs would allow him, ignoring Naruto's loud shouts for him to stop.

Once he got to the hospital he ran straight to the front desk. Telling him his name and who he was here to visit. Once the desk lady gave him the floor number and he was off again, dogging every patient and doctor in his path, until he got to his destination.

He just stood there, staring at the door for what seemed like forever. Not moving, just, standing.

_What if she's not her anymore? What if the cancer made her all depressed and moppy_? He was truly terrified that his Sakura might be gone.

_His Sakura?_

He finally mustered up the courage to turn the door knob and walked in.

She was sitting on the couch adjacent from him. Her feet tucked into her chest, a book in her hands. The only articles of clothing on her petit body were the standard hospital gown and a pink bandanna that covered her bald head.

_She was bald._

_Fuck, she was bald. _

And that meant that Naruto hadn't been lying. She really did have cancer.

_Dammit. _

She looked up from her book. Her eyes went wide, "S-sasuke?"

"Hi."

_Hi? She is fuckin' dying, and all you say is hi?_

"w-what are you doing here? W-when did you get back?"

He turned around and closed the door quietly—walking over to the couch, he sat down next to her.

"We got in just a couple of hours ago. I went to go find you, but you weren't in any of your usual spots or home, so then I went to naruto's and he told me about-"

He was cut off.

"Me having cancer?"

He avoided eye contact with her and nodded his head, "yeah…that…"

She closed her book, putting it on the side table next to her. She changed her position so that she was sitting right up close to sasuke, hands in her lap and a small smile plastered on her exhausted face.

"Come on chicken butt, I have cancer, but you don't have to treat me like I'm some alien. And besides, it's not like I'm dying or anything."

She smiled at her own joke. Sasuke however, wasn't amused.

"Not dying?! Sakura, have you looked in the mirror lately?! You're a walking corps!"

_Wow, ok. Rude. _

She picked at her nails, grunting at his rather harsh statement.

"Thanks Sasuke, it means a lot! You seriously think I haven't notice what I look like!? What could happen to me!? Sasuke, most likely I'm not going to make it! But sitting here and moping and feeling sorry for myself isn't going to change that! So you don't get to mop either! You don't get to feel sorry for me! Maybe joking around is the only way I'm going to be able to cope with this, and if you're not willing to laugh and joke along with me, then you should probably just leave."

Tears were streaming down her face at this point. Sasuke had never seen her this angry, not even after he rejected her when she was thirteen, and many times after that.

It hurt him to see her like this, so sad and withdrawn. This was his worst fear come to life—she wasn't the Sakura he had fallen for.

Wait.

No.

Wait.

Yes.

He had fallen for sakura Hanuro.

_He had fallen for sakura Hanuro. _

He grabbed her shoulders, lightly shaking her, "You. Are. Not. Going. To. Die."

She looked at him like he was speaking gibberish, "And how do you know that? Brain cancer isn't something most people survive! I've got like a thirty percent chance of coming out of this still kicking! The odds are really not in my favor at this point!"

She could barely choke the words out. Sasuke pulled her into his lap, marveling at how small she was. Maybe he never really noticed because of her personality. She was constantly hitting him and naruto, using sarcasm and her extensive knowledge to scold them whenever they were being 'boys'. She was feisty and strong and that's what he liked about her.

Sakura had finally calmed down after what seemed like hours. She was gripping his T-shirt with her two small but powerful fists, which was soaked with her tears.

"How long?" he asked.

She was confused, "How long what?"

"How long is the chemo going to last?"

She looked directly up at him, big green eyes puffy and sad, "Um…the doctors said about two years of extensive chemo therapy, then I would have to come back every three months or so for at least five years. And if I make it to five years without the cancer regenerating, then I'm cancer free."

Her voice cracked a bit at the end. He looked down at her and kissed her forehead. This surprised her. He had never been the most touchy feely person.

She kinda liked this Sasuke.

"Alright, then I'll be here through it all, every session, every late night. You're not going to have to go through this alone—I'm not going to let you."

She smiled at him and nodded her head. Snuggling up close to him they stayed like that till the morning. They had fallen asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

Sakura survived cancer, kicked its ass really, and along the way she gained a wonderful boyfriend, who, at the end, stuck through it all.

Maybe cancer was good for something.


	3. Neji and Tenten

Tenten ran as fast as she could. She has to get away; they would certainly slaughter her if they had even the slightest chance. And she_ really_ didn't feel like dying today. I guess that's what you get for trying to scam a couple of low lives in the slums of the worst part of town.

But what other choice did she have? No parents to provide for her. No family, _period_. And she was only fifteen, so she couldn't get a job. And she was hungry.

Really,_ really_ hungry.

The only reason she had a house was because the orphanage was 'generous' enough to let her have an old, rundown building they use to use.

Thank god for public school, or she would have nothing.

She looked down at her leg. A knife was logged in her upper thigh. And as she slowed down, the adrenalin had started to where off, and she was starting to feel the full extent of her injury. It hurt like hell.

_damn!_

She knew she had to get help or she would defiantly bleed out.

She took a good look at her surroundings. She knew this neighborhood. It was where all the rich and snotty lived. Diplomats, politicians, business folk, not really her scene, but it was her best, and only shot at survival.

She limped over to the nearest house. It was huge, with a perfectly manicured lawn, and an even more perfect pain job. A white corvette stood in the middle of the large driveway.

She had no idea if these people would help her. She hoped and prayed they would. But then again, she was just a street rat, and these kinds of people didn't like_ her_ kind of people. Most likely they would just slam the door in her face and tell her not to get any blood on their exported bamboo wood.

She hesitantly rang the doorbell.

She heard nothing for a couple seconds, then a shuffling of what sounded like foot steps. And before she knew what hit her, Neji Hyuga was standing right in front of her.

All six foot three of beautiful perfection.

_Dammit Tenten! Of all the freakin' houses!_

"Tenten?"

She laughed awkwardly, "Sup Neji."

Neji was really the only friend Tenten had. There was Lee too, but he was more of a brother to Tenten. Neji was, on the other hand, a lot more. She didn't like to believe she felt something more than platonic friendship for him, but deep down she knows she's falling a lot faster than she could catch herself, and she hated herself for it. Getting attached to _anything_ was something she swore she would never do.

It simple really,

You fall in love with people, and then they just leave you, drop you like your nothing.

She didn't want to be dropped anymore, so she stopped getting involved, but then _he_ came along, and her perfect plan was ruined. And so now here she was, standing on the porch of her long time crush, with a knife in her leg, bloody and starving.

_Fuck. _

"What the hell happened to you!?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, "do you not see the giant knife in my leg?"

"Yes I see it but-"

"Neji, please! I'll explain later! But right now I'm kinda bleeding to death, and I really wasn't planning for my death to be on _your_ porch!"

And without another word he roughly pulled her into the house and dragged her to the kitchen. Quickly shuffling all around the large compound, collecting anything that looked like it could help. Bandages, alcohol, and paper towels, you name it.

He set the items on the table, then grabbed Tenten by the waste and picked her up, setting her on the island as gently as he could.

She glared at him, "I could have done that myself, thank you."

"Not if you wanted to cause more injury to that leg of yours."

She blew a piece of greasy brown hair away from her face, "whatever."

He rolled his eyes, and then proceeded to address the wound. Taking a towel and dipping it in the alcohol, he started to clean around the knife.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?"

She averted all eye contact, "it was nothing, just a minor cooking accident."

"_Minor_? Tenten, you have a knife logged into _leg_, this wasn't some cooking accident."

He finished washing the wound and walked over to the trash can to throw away the bloody cloths.

"And besides, you don't cook."

She crossed her arms, "Well I wanted to try something new! Is that so bad?"

"When it gets a knife stuck in your leg, yes, it kind of is."

He stared at her for the longest time. She usually wasn't fazed by his stares, but now that they were being used on her, she was defiantly creeped out. It was like those white orbs were staring into her brain to get the answer himself.

"Okay fine. So I might have, sort of...tickedoffsomeguysinthebackofanallywhenIscamme dthemforalloftheirmoneyinagameofpoker."

He kept staring at her, but this time his gazed was filled with disappointment.

She tried to glare back in response, "don't look at me like that! It was a stupid move and I needed money! I was desperate! Not like you would know what that feels like."

Her voice was cold and bitter and she said the last part.

He hoisted himself up next to her, never taking his eyes off the bun haired girl.

"tenten…"

"There it is again! The pity! It's like I'm some child to you!"

"tenten it's not like that it-"

"Let me ask you something _Neji_, have you ever, in the seventeen years you've been on this earth, have to work for _anything?_ Because I'm pretty sure you haven't. Hell, you probably wipe your ass with hundred dollar bills you're so rich!"

She scooted away from him and kept her gaze on her petite, callused hands.

"I wear the same Fuckin' pair of clothes every single day! And the only reason I'm able to take a shower is because the gym I live next to doesn't mind me using their bathroom!"

Neji just kept staring at her. He hadn't expected her to blow up like that. He hadn't expected her to blow up at all. He didn't know what to say, so he just kept quiet.

Out of rage, Tenten quickly grabbed onto the knife and forced it out of her leg. She then took the bandages to her left and hastily wrapped her wound, then proceeded to jump off the counter and limp out of the room.

"Thanks for the help Neji, but I think I can take care of myself from now on."

"Tenten, wait."

Neji grabbed onto Tenten's wrist, stopping her completely.

"just stay here for one night, ok? You're hurt, and I'm pretty sure walking out on someone who has medical supplies and a warm bed isn't the smartest thing to do at this point."

He had good reasons, Tenten new that. But she_ really_ didn't want to admit it. She was supposed to be mad at him! Not agreeing with him! She could think straight when he was around! And it pissed her off so much! Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Why couldn't he just leave her to die? Why couldn't he stop making that butterfly feeling in her stomach appear whenever she was around him?

_Double fuck. _

She nodded her head numbly, not saying a single word, she planted herself back onto the counter, letting Neji take of the bandaged she so _carefully_ put on, and redo them.

The butterfly feeling was there the whole time he did it too. And it only intensified when his skin brushed against hers.

She _really_ didn't like this feeling. It was a pleasant feeling, yes. But she could never think straight when it accrued. Hell, she was barely able to form a coherent sentence whenever it formed!

"Tenten, hey, Tenten, Tenten!"

She blinked a few times, brought back from her thoughts by Neji's deep voice and his had being waved in front of her face.

"wh-what?"

He shook his head at her, clearly annoyed with her behavior.

"What's wrong with you Tenten? You've been acting so weird the past couple of weeks, and then you go and get yourself stabbed. This isn't like you."

"Well sorry! I usually don't get caught and _stabbed_ when I'm scamming people for their money."

That got Neji to smile just a tiny bit, which caused Tenten to break out in fits of laughter. She almost fell of the island, but Neji caught her before she could cause any further damage to her body.

"What's so funny?"

She laughed even harder, "it's just, I haven't seen you smile in a long time, and it makes me happy when you smile, and I laugh when I'm happy."

His smile softened, "come on, why don't I show you where you'll be staying for the night."

She nodded, a large grin still plastered on her face.

He extended out his hand to hers, and she hesitantly took it. Neji then helped her off the counter, and lead the way upstairs to where Tenten presumed all of the bedrooms were.

* * *

there were a_ lot_ of rooms in Neji's house. Tenten had counted over ten just in the hallway Neji was leading her down! It almost brought Tenten to tears to think this whole house was just for one person.

and when they got to the end of the hallway, Neji stooped and pointed at the second to last door.

"Here, this will be your room."

Tenten tentatively opened the door to find a huge, Victorian styled room, with the biggest four post bed she had ever seen.

"Sorry about the decor, its a little..._old fashioned_, but you do have your own bathroom, so I guess that makes up for it."

Tenten tuned to look at Neji, "No, no it-its wonderful, than you."

Neji gave Tenten a small smile, then turned to leave. And as Tenten started to close the door to her new found room, when she felt a serge of confidence build inside of her, and so she sprinted back to Neji, and gave him the biggest hug she could muster.

she felt him stiffen, but she didn't care.

"uh...Tenten?"

"I'm sorry."

Neji was even more shocked by those two words than the hug._ Sorry? _Tenten was _never_ sorry.

"I just, I freaked out on you back there, and it was rude of me to do so, so, I'm sorry."

Neji turned around so he was facing her, "it's fine Tenten, really. No need to apologize."

she nodded, and after a couple of seconds, stood as tall as she could on her toes, and kissed him on his cheek. then, before he could react or say anything, sprinted back to her room, giving him a cheeky smile over her shoulder as she closed the door.

* * *

I like how this one came out. :D and will also probs do a squeal, seeing as it has a lot of potential for another one-shot (might do a second one for the naruhina one as well)

please review!


	4. Choji and Ino

Ino _despised_ lunch time.

She liked hanging out with her friends, sure. But not the food, not all the _delicious_ food that she passed every time she went into that damned cafeteria. She could barely keep her composure as she walked past the carts that held all of the fruit and veggies and sweets. She was so _so_ hungry. She could barely remember the last time she actually put a morsel of any piece of food into her system.

Four, maybe five days?

But then after she got past the intoxicating substances, and saw her own reflection in one of the soda machines they have placed EVERYWHERE in the school, the reasons she didn't purchase any of that food, and why she hadn't eaten in so long came floating back into her mind.

Skinny.

She _needed _to be skinny.

A flat stomach, and hip bones, and slim legs, and a thigh gap. That's what she wanted. What she craved. What she _needed_.

But no. She had to be _FAT_.

She had to have gross arms, and a disgusting double chin, and thighs the size of Kansas.

She had to be _THIS_.

She hated the way she looked. Even if people told her she was beautiful and model worthy, she still couldn't believe it. And when those _MOSTERS_ tell her she need to 'eat more', and that she is becoming 'rather thin' she wants to scream and break something.

No no no no no NO!

Their all _WRONG_! Every last one of them! She's has never beautiful.

Do they even_ see_ what she sees every time she looks in a mirror?

Everything she does. Everything she _THINKS_. Is about how fat she is. Watching other prettier, _skinnier _girls walk past her, glaring at her, _mocking her_.

She hates them.

Every last one.

And when she saw her friend, her _best-_friend, Sakura, talking and laughing with Sasuke Uchiha, her long time crush since forever, she wanted to cry. And then she also saw the way he was looking at her, with so much admiration and _love_, and that was the last string to break.

She ran right out of the Cafeteria, not really caring about the people she was bumping into, or the things she was knocking over. And when she through open the doors rather dramatically, she knew right where to run too.

The place that could make her beautiful.

The place that could make her thin.

* * *

Choji had just got done with advanced algebra, and was now in the cafeteria, waiting patiently in line with Shikamaru, to _finally_ get the food he had been craving since he got done with breakfast.

He had been talking to Shikamaru about the homework he had been given in math, and seeing if he could help him with it, when he saw Ino.

His smile grew large as he pointed her out to Shikamaru, and Shikamaru gave one if his notorious lazy smirks.

But then the smile and smirk vanished when they saw the way she looked at her reflection self-consciously in the vending machine. And then noticed how she started to tear up as she looked at the sight of Sasuke and Sakura giving each other googoo eyes.

They both knew that Ino had been very hard on herself and her body since middle school. And it hadn't been so bad at first. Just her asking them if they thought she was cute or if they had the chance would they date her. And they would always answer with 'of course' and 'sure, yeah', because it was true. But then she stopped Eating breakfast, then lunch, and then all together. And now, in more recent weeks, they had taken noticed to the fact that her hair had started to get thinner and lither, and had also started to fall out_._ Her lips had become very dry, and had cuts and open sores on them, and she was the skinniest she had ever been.

It scared them, but they didn't want to bring attention to it. Because they just _knew_ she would freak out and tell them she was fine. But she wasn't fine, far from it really. And when Choji saw Ino run out of the cafeteria, teary eyed and hollow looking, that was the last straw.

* * *

The bathroom floor was cold and hard, and the toilet seat was even more so.

She didn't was to do this. Despised how it ended up this way.

Detested how this was the_ only_ way.

_Skinny. _

It's funny really, how such a long word could mean something so small. How it could define the way you think of someone and how you view their beauty and their worth.

_Fat. _

This word was funny, also. It was something small that meant something big. It was a word that made you sound gross and unsanitary and ugly even though it was _just a stupid word._

And as Ino sat on the ground, head resting on an unclean toilet seat, and the remains of her stomach content, that she really couldn't afford to lose, were now floating in the porcelain bowl she sat next to, she also thought about how that stupid, three letter word had ruined her life, and her body, and her sanity.

_She didn't fuckin' want this at all!_

Maybe she was skinny. Maybe she was fine. Maybe she didn't have to do this to herself. Maybe she didn-

The door to the girl's bathroom creaked open.

"Ino?"

It was Choji.

No, not Choji, anyone _but_ Choji.

She didn't want him to see her like this. Not all covered in her own puke, misery, and sorrow. He shouldn't see her like this, didn't deserve too, either. Because she knew how he would react, and that would trigger all her insecurity's and self-hate would come back, and they both_ really_ didn't need to see her try to upchuck again.

* * *

His footsteps were quiet as he walked to the stall that he could see Ino seated in. he really didn't want to believe what he heard and what he saw. But it was hard _not_ to believe.

He didn't want to think about her being bulimic.

her starving herself, puking when she actually did eat, and treating herself that way. But all the signs had been there, and he felt like a bastard for not acting on them and helping her.

And as he knocked on the stall door, he knew he couldn't deny it anymore.

"Ino, please, let me in."

"Go away", was her weak reply.

"Come on, Ino, you have to let someone in, _me_ in. You need help."

It had sounded like she threw something at the door, "Choji, right now, I don't need to be told what I need. I am perfectly capable of deciding that for myself. And I _defiantly_ don't need help."

"Oh yeah? So let me ask, is throwing up in a toilet and starving yourself really _fine_? Because personally, I don't think it is."

There was a long, thick pause for what seemed like eternity.

And apparently, that had done the trick, because Ino had pushed herself up off the ground, unlocked and opened the stall door slowly, stared at Choji for the longest time, with her big, blue bloodshot eyes, and then threw her arms around him. Putting him in a death grip that he personally didn't mind being put into.

"Ino-I-uh-"

"Oh shut up, you!" she said fiercely, her grip becoming a little more tight.

And for the longest time, they just stood there, in each other's arms, not saying anything.

"Thank you", Ino whispered, breaking the silence.

"For what?", Choji whispered back.

"For being there for me…for not leaving when you figured out my…_problem." _Ino paused, "For just being you I guess."

Choji smiled and tightened his arms around her waist.

"No problem, Ino."

* * *

Not really that proud of the ending, but the beginning turned out great. :) Please review!


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